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Oswego County is well on the way to creating its own low-cost power for jobs program, thanks to actions taken by the County Legislature at our November meeting.

This exciting new program is unique for a local government. The county's tax agreement with Entergy Nuclear Northeast, owner of the James A. FitzPatrick plant, requires Entergy to provide up to 10 megawatts of electricity at $32 per megawatt-hour each year from 2005 to 2010. That price is well below current market rates.

The agreement requires that the low-cost power be used by government or be allocated to businesses, using the state's Power For Jobs program as a model. Power For Jobs provides new or expanding companies discounted power if they are creating or retaining jobs. It is estimated that 1 discounted megawatt equates to an average of 100 new or retained jobs.

The goals of the Oswego County power-for-jobs program are to:

• · Help businesses expand and create jobs in Oswego County. Preference will be given to businesses that are not eligible for other low-cost power programs.
• · Reduce the burden on county taxpayers by decreasing energy costs for county facilities. County government can use unallocated power to reduce its electrical costs and pass the savings on to taxpayers.

A public utility board will oversee the process by reviewing applications and selecting eligible businesses to receive an allocation of low-cost power. The County Legislature appointed six citizens to the board Nov. 10. We expect to appoint one more board member in the very near future.

Members are Jerry DeSantis, P.E. of Oswego, David Buske of Oswego, Lawrence Perras of Oswego; Andrew Curran of Hannibal, James Hotchkiss of Mexico, and Dale Currier of Minetto. They bring a broad background in power plant supervision and regulatory procedures, electrical systems, energy management, manufacturing processes and production, financial and accounting systems, municipal planning and zoning, power plant construction, and emergency planning and management.

County Legislator Greg Osetek, District 13, Oswego, was appointed by the Legislature as an ex-officio member to the public utility board.

A great deal of work has already gone into this project. The Legislature's Energy Utilization Advisory Committee researched and established goals that are contained in a final report submitted to the General Government Committee in June. Legislator Osetek chaired the advisory committee, assisted by legislators Jack Beckwith, District 21, Hannibal; Tom Bullard, District 14 (Scriba, Oswego); Leonard Ponzi, District 17 (Oswego, Oswego Town); Arthur Ospelt, District 12 (Schroeppel) and David Waters, District 3 (Richland).

What happens next? The new Public Utility Service Board will meet within the next month to organize details and begin developing the application process for industries. Beginning Jan. 1, Select Energy of Syracuse will provide energy consulting and administrative services for the low-cost power program. The legislature approved a 1-year contract with the energy service company at its November meeting. The contract may be renewed annually.

I am happy to report that these resolutions received bipartisan support from the full Legislature. The Oswego County Public Utility Service is an exciting incentive for job creation, and we can all be proud of the progress that is being made.